Drug testing for students upheld by high court

June 30, 2011

Wyoming: On Monday, June 6, the Wyoming Supreme Court issued a ruling upholding the legality of a rule requiring drug and alcohol testing for students in extracurricular activities in Goshen County School District 1. The school district rule was challenged by parents who argued that the constitutional protections of students against unreasonable search and seizure. The state Supreme Court responded with a 5-0 decision, upholding a lower court ruling, in which the court determined that it was up to the school district to decide best how to handle its problems. Justice James Burke wrote in the court's decision, "School districts in Wyoming have ‘wide discretion in the management of the district’s affairs,’ and this Court ‘will not interfere with an honest exercise of discretion by public boards or officers.'"